Firefighters are battling a 300-acre wildfire on Mt. Baldy in the Angeles National Forest.
The Big Horn fire was reported about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Bear Flat area about 45 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, said Sherry Rollman, spokeswoman for the national forest.
With winds at 15 to 20 mph and gusting to 60 mph in the area, about 240 firefighters had not brought the blaze under control as of about 2:30 p.m., said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Dee Deckert. Five helicopters were brought in to fight the fire, she said. Fire officials also ordered flame-retardant-dropping planes, but pilots were unable to fly because of the high winds, Deckert said.
By afternoon, fire officials had closed Mt. Baldy Road at Shinn Road and Glendora Ridge Road at Mt. Baldy and East Fork roads, although the roads remained open to residents, Deckert said.
